The invention relates to an azimuth brake for wind power plants, comprising at least two pairs of brake shoes arranged at a common brake disk and each having an actuator associated therewith.
Wind power plants have a pod, which carries the blade rotor and is rotatable about a vertical axis, so that the blade rotor may be directed into the wind. The azimuth brake has the purpose to fix the pod in its respective azimuth position and/or to dampen the rotary movement of the pod. The azimuth brake has a horizontal annular brake disk at which several pairs of brake shoes, e.g. 4 to 24 pairs of brake shoes, are arranged, so that a sufficiently high braking force may be exerted onto the brake disk. In conventional azimuth brakes of this type, the brake shoes are actuated hydraulically.
For the blade rotor of a wind power plant, DE 202 03 794 U proposes a brake which can be actuated electromechanically. The actuator of this brake comprises a lever that is pivotable about an axis extending normal to the plane of the brake disk, and a transmission for translating the pivotal movement of this lever into an axial engaging movement of the brake shoes against the brake disk. For actuating the brake, a drive mechanism, which is preferably an electromechanical drive mechanism, e.g. a motor with spindle drive, acts upon the lever. A high engaging force of the brake shoes is achieved by the lever action of the lever and the force translation in the transmission.